1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an insertion/removal jig for a printed circuit board, used for inserting a printed circuit board mounting thereon electronic circuits and other components into electronic equipment, and/or for taking the board out of the electronic equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of electronic equipment in which a printed circuited board is inserted is illustrated in FIG. 1. The electronic equipment is provided with, inserted therein, printed circuit board 1 mounting thereon various electronic circuits and other components so as to provide the functions required for the equipment. This kind of printed circuit board 1 employs various types of connectors 2 functioning as interface for the supply of electric power and for transmitting and receiving predetermined signals of external equipment. Also, cable connectors 3 to which cables and so on are attached are insertably and removably secured to connectors 2 mounted on printed circuit board 1.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, printed circuit board 1 is held by card support cage 4 (the frame of the electronic equipment) to be movable in a predetermined insertion and removal direction. Connectors 2 are mounted on, for example, the surface of printed circuit board 1 under various restrictions on the shape of the electronic equipment and the space for the mounting of connectors 2. According to the above-described composition, a direction in which cable connectors 3 are inserted and/or taken out corresponds to a direction vertical to the insertion/removal direction of printed circuit board 1, and therefore cable connectors 3 are inserted in associated connectors 2 after being guided by connector guide 5 provided on the frame to the positions adjacent to associated connectors 2.
During the maintenance operation, where the composition of FIG. 1 is adopted, and when printed circuit board 1 is pulled out of the electronic equipment, since cable connectors 3 are held by connector 5, printed circuit board 1 must be pulled out of card support cage 4 after cable connectors 3 are taken out. Further, when printed circuit board 1 mounts thereon a large-sized component or components such as a heat sink, such large-sized components must initially be removed before printed circuit board 1 is taken out of the electronic equipment.
Therefore, if printed circuit board 1 is pulled out of card support cage 4 while forgetting to remove components such as cable connectors 3, the components will be damaged or broken, with the possibility that such printed circuit board 1 cannot be re-used.
Further, when printed circuit board 1 is inserted in electronic equipment, if insertion thereof is carried out without becoming conscious of obstacles such as cable connectors 3 moving unawares to the position or positions for insertion, printed circuit board 1 and components mounted thereon would be damaged or broken by the obstacles, and as a result, printed circuit board 1 could possibly not be re-used.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an insertion/removal jig for a printed circuit board, which is capable of preventing breakage and damage to the printed circuit board and/or components mounted thereon by avoiding application of any unnecessarily excessive force to the components when carrying out the insertion and removal of the printed circuit board.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an insertion/removal jig for a printed circuit board of the present invention, is constituted by comprising a card-holding portion holding a printed circuit board upon pulling out the printed circuit board, a movable frame formed to be integral with the card-holding portion, a stationary frame provided with a support point working as a fulcrum for permitting the printed circuit board to be pulled out, and holding the movable frame to be movable in a direction for insertion/removal of the printed circuit board, and a breakage-preventing portion interconnecting between the stationary frame and the support point via an elastic body shrunk by a force that is larger than a force necessary for pulling out the printed circuit board but smaller than a fixing force of components mounted on the printed circuit board.
According to the provision of the above-mentioned breakage-preventing portion, for example, even when an operation for taking out electric components such as cable connectors were forgotten before pulling out a printed circuit board from electronic equipment, the elastic body of the breakage-preventing portion will be resultantly shrunk by the action of a force smaller than the fixing force of the electric components mounted on the printed circuit board. Further, when an amount of shrinkage of the elastic body is set to be larger than a movable distance of the movable frame, an amount that the breakage-preventing portion is compressed in, i.e., the stroke of the breakage-preventing portion, is greater than the extent of movement of the movable frame, and therefore the printed circuit board will not be taken out under a condition that the cable connectors are still left as they are plugged into the associated connectors. Thus, when a printed circuit board is pulled out of electronic equipment, breakage or damage to the electric components mounted on the printed circuit board can be prevented.
Further, an insertion/removal jig for a printed circuit board in accordance with the present invention, is constituted by comprising a card-holding portion holding a printed circuit board upon inserting the printed circuit board, a movable frame formed to be integral with the card-holding portion, a stationary frame provided with a support point working as a fulcrum for permitting the printed circuit board to be inserted, and holding the movable frame to be movable in a direction for insertion and removal of the printed circuit board, and a breakage-preventing portion interconnecting between the stationary frame and the support point via an elastic body extended by a force that is larger than a force necessary for inserting the printed circuit board but smaller than a fixing force of components mounted on the printed circuit board.
According to the above-mentioned provision of the breakage-preventing portion, even when an attempt is made to insert the printed circuit board in electronic equipment under a condition where any obstacle exists at the position for the insertion of the printed circuit board might cause interference with electric components on the printed circuit board, the elastic body of the breakage-preventing portion will be overcome to be resultantly extended by a fixing force of the components mounted on the printed circuit board. Further, when the length of extension of the elastic body is set larger than a movable distance of the movable frame, the length that the breakage-preventing portion is pulled out, i.e., and therefore the printed circuit board cannot be inserted under a condition where any obstacles exists at the position for the insertion of the printed circuit board. Accordingly, when a printed circuit board is inserted in electronic equipment, breakage of or damage to the electronic components on the printed circuit board can be prevented.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate examples of the present invention.